UTEP can’t keep pace with WCC foe LMU; Miners fall to Lions, 71-58
EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP men’s basketball team was upended by WCC member LMU, 71-58, at the Don Haskins Center Tuesday evening.
The Miners (2-1) carried a four-point lead (38-34) into the locker room only to have the Lions (4-0) come out firing on all cylinders after the break.
The visitors opened the second half on a 9-0 run to surge ahead. UTEP clawed back to tie it at 43.
LMU was up one (46-45) before another 9-0 push from the Lions, and much to the chagrin of the Miner faithful, the Orange and Blue could not recover.
Jamal West Jr. led a quartet of Miners in double figures with 14 points, followed by KJ Thomas (11 points), Tyreese Watson (11 points) and Elijah Jones (10 points).
Caleb Blackwell added nine points, all on 3-pointers.
UTEP finished at 35.1 percent from the floor (20-57), which was hindered by a readout of 23.1 percent (6-26) after the break.
The Miners registered 12 assists to only eight turnovers, with Tyreese Watson dropping a team-best five helpers.
LMU knocked down 53.8 percent (28-52) of its shots, aided by going 11-24 (45.8 percent) from 3-point range.
The Miners forced 19 turnovers which led to 19 points, but LMU compensated by winning the boards (39-25) and the strong shooting night.
“Give them credit, they’re a veteran team. They spent the second half in the paint, and we didn’t. We made threes the first half. We can’t live and die by that,” UTEP head coach Joe Golding said. “In the second half we looked like a team that is brand new. Everybody, not in a bad way, all wanted to win the game. You’ve got to win it as a team, not as individuals. Again, it’s a lesson that every team is learning across the country right now. We went against a good team. We battled for 20 minutes. Give them credit, they got us in the second 20 (minutes).”
The Miners took an early 9-2 edge (16:59, 1H) behind three triples, all from Blackwell. LMU responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a one-point affair before Thomas knocked down a trey from the corner. The Lions countered with eight straight to put the Orange and Blue down by four (16-12, 12:07, 1H).
Tyreese Watson curled off a screen and was pure a the 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one (16-15, 11:51, 1H).
The visitors nudged it out to five (23-18, 9:14, 1H) before consecutive scores by West Jr. trimmed the deficit to one (23-22) heading to the eight-minute media timeout.
UTEP briefly regained the lead by one thanks to a beautiful driving layup from Cassius Brooks, but it was answered immediately with a putback from LMU.
Back-to-back baskets by West Jr., including a well-executed pump fake that led to a layup, put the Orange and Blue up three (28-25, 4:06, 1H), and forced a timeout from the Lions.
It paid dividends as they knotted the tilt out of the break with a corner triple. UTEP struck back with five in a row, with a pull-up jumper by Tyreese Watson and a top of the key 3-pointer courtesy of Jones.
LMU had an alley-oop And-1, but UTEP answered with Thomas’s second 3-pointer of the stanza to go back out by five (36-31, 1:34 1H).
Brooks came up with an offensive board, fed it to Tyreese Watson, who found the wide-open Thomas.
After forcing the second shot-clock violation of the half, Thomas sank two free throws. LMU drained a 3-pointer to stop the push and cut the Miners’ lead to four (38-34) heading into the locker room.
The Lions started the second half on a 9-0 run, and UTEP suddenly trailed by five (43-38, 17:08).
Jones splashed home a contested jumper to halt the surge and bring the Miners within three (43-40, 16:16, 2H).
After a stop, Tyreese Watson drove and dished it to West Jr., who was pure on the 3-pointer to tie the tilt.
LMU went back ahead on another 3-pointer before West Jr. sank a pair of free throws to get the Orange and Blue back within one.
It was answered by nine straight from the Lions, sending UTEP down by 10 (56-45, 9:23, 2H). It also forced Golding to call timeout.
Tyreese Watson scored on a driving lay-up to halt the sequence, but the damage had been done. UTEP kept battling down the stretch, but it could not get back in the affair.
The Miners will hit the road for the first time this year when it plays at perennial NCAA tournament participant Utah State at 2 p.m. MT Saturday.
The contest will be broadcast on 600 ESPN El Paso and streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).
